23 students sign early intent with UNR

RENO - A record number of high school seniors and junior college transfers signed National Letters-of-Intent with the University of Nevada in the recently completed NCAA early signing period, the athletic department announced Wednesday.

Twenty-three student-athletes in eight sports signed early letters to attend school at Nevada and play for the Wolf Pack next year.

"There's no question our association with the WAC (Western Athletic Conference) clearly provides our coaches with another great marketing tool," Athletics Director Chris Ault said.

In recent years when Nevada was affiliated with the Big West Conference, Wolf Pack coaches would sign a total of 10 to 12 athletes in the early period, having to wait for the spring signing period to solidify their rosters and allocate their scholarships. Nevada officially joined the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) on July 1 of 2000, and is competing in its first year in the nine-team league.

This early signing period, which ran from Nov. 8-15, included 22 high school seniors and one junior college transfer. Among the signings were seven in track and field, four each in swimming and baseball, three in women's golf, two in women's basketball and one each in men's basketball, men's golf and volleyball. Football and soccer signing day will Feb. 7 while the late signing date for basketball and all other sports will be April 11.

Increased media and television exposure also aided in the early signings. Nevada appeared on local or regional TV eight times in football, will appear on regional television via FOX twice in men's basketball and for the first time ever in women's basketball when the Pack hosts Hawaii Sunday, Feb. 4 at 11:00 a.m. in a FOX telecast at Lawlor Events Center. The men's basketball team will appear on FOX when it hosts San Jose State Feb. 11, and again when it's at Fresno State Feb. 25. Both are 3:00 p.m. Sunday games for TV.

Those who signed with Nevada this fall were: J.T. Sherman St. George, Utah baseball; Bryan Johnson Selah, Wash., baseball; Chris Gimenez, Gilroy, Calif., baseball; Darrick Cummings, Reno, baseball; Kirk Snyder, Upland, Calif., men's basketball; April Bankston, Hayward, Calif., women's basketball.

Amber Stimac, Scottsdale, Ariz. , women's basketball; Adam Martin, Bend, Ore. , men's golf; Jennie Peek, Greeley, Colo., women's golf; Erin LaPlaunt, Elk Grove, Calif. , women's golf; Erin Long, Napa, Calif. , women's golf; Charlene Rigdon, Gardnerville (Douglas), swimming; Heather Thomas, Prescott, Ariz., swimming.

Elizabeth Day, Newmarket, Ontario, swimming; Kelsey McKinney, Oroville, Calif. , swimming; Julie Hinton, Reno (Galena) , track; Marauda Brownson Yoncalla, Ore., track; Danielle Hicks, Sparks, track; Caira Hane, Hillsboro, Ore. , track; Austin Buss, Sparks, track

Janine Bodo, Reno, track; Nickie Carter, Redmond, Ore., track; Latoya Marshall Pago Pago, American Samoa, volleyball